View full sizeHeather Leavell-Keaton, 22, was being held on lesser child abuse charges in Louisville, Kentucky, after her common-law husband's 4-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son were reported missing, and possibly dead, last month. She is expected to arrive in Mobile on Sunday.

MOBILE, Alabama -- Prosecutors will upgrade charges against the stepmother of 2 children who disappeared earlier this year to aggravated child abuse after she is transferred to Mobile from a Louisville, Kentucky, jail, authorities said Thursday.

Heather Leavell-Keaton, 22, was being held on lesser child abuse charges in Louisville after her common-law husband’s 4-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son were reported missing, and possibly dead, last month. She is expected to arrive in Mobile on Sunday.

Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr. said his office plans on upgrading the charges to 2 counts of aggravated child abuse, a more serious felony, and adding 2 counts of abuse of a corpse.

The remains of the boy, Jonathan Chase DeBlase, were found in a wooded area near Vancleave on Wednesday. His sister, Natalie DeBlase, is presumed dead and authorities believe her body was dumped near Citronelle.

Their father, John DeBlase, 27, is being held without bail in Mobile County Metro Jail on 2 felony murder counts. He is scheduled for a bail hearing in District Court this morning.

Tyson said abuse charges against Leavell-Keaton stem from separate incidents that are not related to the children’s deaths, although he declined to release any details.

He said the evidence used in bringing those charges “is not coming directly from her.”

Jonathan Chase DeBlase

“The investigation is very intense and it is ongoing,” Tyson said. “As the information and the facts develop, as more charges are warranted, we’ll bring those charges.”

Police have said the couple, who met in Mobile, are blaming each other for killing the children.

On Thursday, Leavell-Keaton was picked up in Louisville for a private transport service hired by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said, and she is expected back in Mobile on Sunday.

The spokeswoman said the transport service moves prisoners between several institutions, which is why the trip will take a few days.

DeBlase was arrested Dec. 3 on aggravated child abuse and abuse of a corpse charges. Prosecutors added two counts of felony murder Wednesday.

The father has admitted to dumping his children’s lifeless bodies, investigators said, and he had described the locations.

Previous reports referred to Natalie as being 5 years old, but according to court records, she could have been no older than 4 when she was reported missing.

Natalie DeBlase

Meanwhile, Leavell-Keaton is accused of torturing the children while DeBlase watched without stopping her, according to criminal complaints filed in Mobile County District Court.

The stepmother tied duct tape around Natalie’s hands and feet, shoved a sock into her mouth and put her in a suitcase, according tot he documents. Once Natalie was inside the suitcase, Leavell-Keaton locked her in a closet, where she stayed for 12 hours.

Authorities in Kentucky were alerted that the children were missing on Nov. 18 when Leavell-Keaton’s mother came forward, according to Mobile police spokesman Officer Christopher Levy, who declined to say how her mother got that information.

Louisville police then picked up Leavell-Keaton for questioning, and she requested a restraining order against DeBlase, claiming she was fearful of her husband.

Leavell-Keaton told police the children had been killed in Mobile, authorities said, and Mobile police launched an investigation the next day.

Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd said that it was about midnight Wednesday when authorities finally removed the boy’s remains from a wooded area near Vancleave.

“It was a feeling of relief, but also a feeling of sadness that someone would do this to a child,” Byrd said Thursday. “This is one of the most horrific scenes I’ve ever seen.”

Officials at the scene had discovered bones and bits of black and white plastic.